Thursday Movie Picks #290: TMP Television Edition - 2019 Freshmen Series

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is TMP Television Edition - 2019 Freshmen Series

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Another theme I've been looking forward to. I've already mentioned a couple of 2019 freshmen series I like (The Politician, Evil and The Society) in previous TMPs, so I'm going to pick 5 more that I like that I have yet to mention before.

The Witcher (2019 - )

With Game of Thrones now concluded, The Witcher is primed to fill the fantasy void. How does it compare? Game of Thrones I loved from the first season, I suppose it was the whole political intrigue thing, which I tend to love and of course it has amazing characters. The Witcher, at least for its first season is more of a heroes' journey, which I am not as fond of, where we follow three of its main characters until their paths finally cross and I have to say I don't feel particularly invested in its characters just yet. However I think the series has potential, especially since the characters have finally met up, the story could now go in a much more interesting direction in season two.

Sanditon (2019)
I've read most of Jane Austen's finished novels and have watched the various movie and TV adaptations of them. Sanditon, if you've not heard of it yet, is based on Jane Austen's unfinished novel, one I have not read. So it was such a delight to have seen this TV series and experienced an Austen story for the first time in such a long time. The last episode of the first season had a sort of an open ending, and with the novel being an unfinished one, the series' writer certainly has a lot of room to expand the story beyond the original plot for the second season. Unfortunately it seems ITV, the original broadcaster in the UK, has cancelled the series back in December. Still, as it has only been shown in the US this year, I'm hoping with an increase in its number of fans, it will be picked for a second season perhaps even by a different outlet. 

Dead to Me  (2019 - )

Netflix it seems in 2018/2019 excelled in putting out comedic series (this series, along with After Life and The Kominsky Method) featuring characters dealing with grief. Dead to Me is more of a dark comedy, about a widow making a new friend at a grief support group not knowing that the friend is harbouring a shocking secret. This series is so unexpectedly good...I totally wasn't aware of what the series was about when I started watching, and was quite surprise by the dark turns it took, and yet the series was still able to be very funny. Can't wait for the next season.

After Life (2019 - )

This is the other series dealing with grief about a man struggling after the death of his wife and the only thing keeping him going is that his dog is dependent on him. I've like Gervais's other works like The Office and Extras and I think this is as good or perhaps better. It manages to balance being so sad without losing the humor.

Russian Doll (2019 - )
A woman attending her birthday party is stuck in a time loop where she ends up dying again and again. I really enjoyed this. It's fast paced, weird and darkly funny though I'm not really sure where the story is going. It is confirmed for a second season so I am going to lookout for it.

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Thursday Movie Picks #289: Unforgettable Film Scores

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Unforgettable Film Scores

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Today's theme is a suggestion from Brittani. I've been looking forward to today's theme. There's plenty to choose from. There's the classics and blockbusters of course like Star Wars, LOTR and Harry Potter. However my favourites, while not exactly small movies are not big blockbusters either and this time I can't help myself and am picking 6 movies...I know a lot....which is such a rarity.

 

Kissing in the Rain from Great Expectations (1998)
This is one my favourite movies of all time and I can't believe I almost forgot to add this track. This I believe was played when Finn was older and in New York...in you guessed it the rain, and the track has a sense of both magic that he sort of finally gets the girl and nostalgia I guess for when he first met Estella.

 

Surrounded from The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
I love the movie and the movie's score. This particular track I picked I think was played when the soldiers had surrounded the Musketeers and the man in the iron mask, it has a very dramatic action full orchestra sort of sound that expresses the valor and honor of the characters in the scene.  

 

In the House In a Heartbeat from 28 Days Later... (2002)
Love the movie. This track I'm pretty sure is the one that was played when Cillian Murphy's emaciated character wakes up and wanders into an empty London dazed and confused. The track is just so eerie and has this sense of increasing distress. 

 

Death is the Road to Awe from The Fountain (2006)
Unlike the other movies I've picked today, I don't like this movie. I find it much like Cloud Atlas, too ambitious with the whole interconnected-ness thing. But I do love this track which has this escalating tense shrill violins or maybe cello sound...I obviously can't tell instruments apart... anyway the track is just so beautiful and haunting.

Coronation from Stardust (2007)
This is another one of my favourite movies and I love this track that comes at the end. It is has a sort of grand epic sound that is also so joyous it's like the equivalent of seeing fireworks.

Jane's Escape from Jane Eyre (2011)
Once again love the movie. There's a line in the book, as well as in the movie, where Rochester speaks of a string within him that is connected tightly and inextricably to Jane. And this track which features taut straining violins that plays as Jane makes her escape from Thornfield Hall perfectly references that quote and expresses that what was between them is now being pulled apart.

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Thursday Movie Picks #288: 2019 Releases

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is 2019 Releases

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This is yet another tough one since I've only seen a handful of 2019 releases. Anyway here are the ones I like.

Earthquake Bird (2019)
An expat in Japan is questioned about a missing friend who may have been involved with her boyfriend. I like it. It is very atmospheric and broody with an extremely unreliable protagonist, so it really kept me guessing until the end.

The King (2019)
It's about the prince as he becomes Henry V. I've not read Shakespeare Henry V, but I'm guessing this is an adaptation of it instead of being more historical based...since certain people did not die in reality as when they do in this movie...but without Shakespeare's prose, which I suppose made it easier to understand at least for me. Historical inaccuracies aside, I really like it. It was well written and well paced. Everyone was good in their parts and those last few scenes with Henry V and Catherine and later William were great. The only thing I didn't like was Pattinson as the Dauphin, it was too over the top I thought.

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)
Spider-man goes on a European school trip and once again he has to save the day. I'm really enjoying this new Spider-man franchise. It's bright, fun and funny. I think it's because they kept Spider-man a teenager, so there's a wide eyed wonder about him where everything is both scary but still cool and fun and there's also his friends where a lot of the humor comes from. I'm looking forward to the third movie especially after that revelation at the end.

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Thursday Movie Picks #287: Favorite Films by Steven Spielberg

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Favorite Films by Steven Spielberg

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Today's theme is a suggestion from B. I haven't really seen a lot of films directed by Spielberg, and those that I've seen, I saw quite a long time ago that I hardly remember anything so this turn out to be quite a challenge. Anyway here are the three I like best.

Minority Report (2002)
It is one of those movies that I like it better the second time. It's a good crime thriller with a cool look and the action was good as well.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
It's like Pinocchio but in the future and it is soo sad.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Of the three I like this best. It's a great sweet heartwarming sci-fi adventure movie that has a sense of magic and wonder. When I think of movie magic...I think of this movie. It's basically everything that Stranger Things wants to be.

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Thursday Movie Picks #286: Escape

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Escape

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Hey! Hope you've had a good start to the new year and welcome to the first TMP of 2020. Today's theme is escape. I don't want to overthink it, so I'm just going to go with recent "Escape" movies I've seen.

Escape Room (2019)
It was fine, a decent scary not too scary movie. There is going to be a sequel which...I mean more elaborate puzzles? How are they going to make that more interesting? Maybe by the end of it the gamemasters get caught because surely someone must have taken a selfie of their invitation.

Orbiter 9 (2017)
I like this one. It's basically about a young woman on a spaceship to a distant planet who escapes from the ship to discover what is really going on.

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
I really like this. It's a really scary thriller. Does she stay in the shelter with two men she doesn't know or does she escape into some apocalyptic wasteland?

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2020 Thursday Movie Picks Schedule (Final)

Hi everyone! Thanks to everyone who submitted a theme suggestion. Anyway I've also done some reshuffling and here is the updated final schedule which I will also post on the Thursday Movie Picks page for your easy reference.

As always if there is any theme that you don't quite get what it's supposed to be about, leave a comment here.

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2020 Thursday Movie Picks Schedule

January 2 - Escape
January 9 - Favorite Films by Steven Spielberg [Suggested by B]
January 16 - 2019 Releases
January 23 - Unforgettable Film Scores [Suggested by Brittani]
January 30 - TMP Television Edition: 2019 Freshmen Series
February 6 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Lust
February 13 - Meet Cute
February 20 - Love in the Tech Age
February 27 - TMP Television Edition: Romance
March 5 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Gluttony
March 12 - Spoofs / Satires / Mockumentaries
March 19 - Bad Boys
March 26 - TMP Television Edition: Docu Series
April 2 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Greed
April 9 - Movies about Animals [Suggested by Birgit]
April 16 - Numbers in Title (Not part of a franchise)
April 23 - Verbal Altercations [Suggested by Getter]
April 30 - TMP Television Edition: Game Shows
May 7 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Envy
May 14 - Girls' Trip
May 21 - Great Final Films of Actors/Actresses [Suggested by thevoid99]
May 28 - TMP Television Edition: Competitive Reality Shows
June 4 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Sloth
June 11 - Prequels
June 18 - Period Dramas
June 25 - TMP Television Edition: Book to TV Adaptations
July 2 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Wrath
July 9 - Globetrotting Movies
July 16 - Male Buddy Movies
July 23 -  Secret Doorways / Worlds
July 30 - TMP Television Edition: TV Series Based on Movies
August 6 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Pride
August 13 - School
August 20 - Female Buddy Movies
August 27 - TMP Television Edition: Prequels
September 3 - Domestic Thrillers
September 10 - Non-English Language Movies
September 17 - The Band
September 24 - TMP Television Edition: Journalism [Suggested by Getter]
October 1 - Halloween Edition: Horror Movie Houses
October 8 - Halloween Edition: Based on a True Story
October 15 - Halloween Edition: Snow / Winter Horror
October 22 - Halloween Edition: Holiday Horror
October 29 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror
November 5 - Bookish Movies
November 12 - Favorite Cinematography [Suggested by Brittani]
November 19 - Movies about Villains
November 27 - TMP Television Edition: Non-English
December 3 - Adaptations
December 10 - Movies for Seniors / The Elderly
December 17 - Films Directed by a Female Director [Suggested by Brittani]
December 24 - Holiday Action Movies
December 31 -TMP Television Edition: Space / Aliens

Thursday Movie Picks #285: TMP Television Edition - Rivalry

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is TMP Television Edition - Rivalry

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I have been looking forward to this theme. Remember we had a similar one for movies with TMP #144 and I thought we must have a TV one as well since there are plenty of fun rivalries on TV. I'm going with some slightly older series and some very new ones that I like.

Buffy vs Faith - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 - 2003)

I haven't seen this in the longest time, and I can't remember exactly why Faith became bad, but she did and she and Buffy battle it out at some point.

Damon Salvatore vs Stefan Salvatore - The Vampire Diaries (2009 - 2017)
Damon hates his brother Stefan but still sort of loves him too and they keep competing for the same girls. Damon has the best lines as well, he is the master of sarcasm, directing it and his bitterness often at Stefan, the more guilt ridden brother.

Miles Elliot vs Himself - Living with Yourself (2019 - )

This is a new dark comedy about Miles who is struggling at life and decides to go to a spa to relax and become a better person but instead finds himself to have been cloned and now have to compete with his clone on which one of them gets to live his life.

Peyton Hobart vs Astrid Sloan - The Politician (2019 – )
The series follows students competing to become class president. I really enjoyed this, I found it funny and I actually expected this series to be much more mean spirited. I mean look at other Ryan Murphy series like Popular, Glee and Scream Queen...the meanies in them are super super mean. In comparison despite this being about politics, school politics, it is less mean than those other series.

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Thursday Movie Picks #284: Child Actors Venturing Out of Typecasting

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Child Actors Venturing Out of Typecasting [Suggested by Brittani]

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Today's theme is a suggestion from Brittani. This is another challenging week. I think it's because some of the big child actors of yesteryear don't really have an acting career anymore or those actors who weren't popular as child actors but did make a name as adults weren't really typecasted when they were children. Anyway here are three that I managed to come up with.

P.S. The preliminary 2020 Thursday Movie Picks schedule is up. If you want to suggest a theme please submit it by next Thursday.

Natalie Portman - Where the Heart Is (2000)
In Where the Heart Is, Portman plays an uneducated pregnant teen a departure from her previous roles which were mostly smart precocious teens (Léon: The Professional, Beautiful Girls and Star Wars).

Emma Watson - The Bling Ring (2013)
Known mostly for Hermione in the Harry Potter movies, she really went the complete opposite of smart and bookish with The Bling Ring playing a spoiled bratty teenage burglar.

Evan Rachel Wood - Whatever Works (2009) & Barefoot (2014)

In her tween and teen years Wood's roles were mostly of troubled and rebellious teens (Once and Again, Thirteen, Pretty Persuasion, Down in the Valley and Running with Scissors). Her adult roles are more varied and with Whatever Works and Barefoot her characters are very naive and sweet; the opposite of her teen roles.

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2020 Thursday Movie Picks Schedule (Preliminary)

Hi everyone! The upcoming 2020 run of Thursday Movie Picks will be the seventh year I'm doing the series. With each year, it has been harder and harder coming up with new themes, which is why I have some fixed themes (like adaptations) and usually have a little help from you guys too for some suggestions. Still, I would have to come up with nearly 40 new themes each year and each time I surprise myself with how I'm able to produce something by the end of the year. Here's a peek at the inspiration for some of the themes:

• This year quite a number of the themes were inspired from book genres and sub genres.
• About a quarter of the books I read the past year are romantic comedies and they often talk about meet cutes and dating apps which inspired the Meet Cute and Love in the Tech Age theme.
• I just started watching Blood & Treasure which is about characters traveling the world to locate stolen artifacts and I thought Globetrotting would be a great movie theme.
• Half of the books I read are thrillers and a significant portion of them are of the currently very trendy sub genre Domestic Thrillers which I thought would make a good TMP theme.
• Themes for the Halloween edition have always been tough to come up with especially since 2019 and now 2020 too has 5 Thursdays. Then I recently saw an episode on the History Channel about the real Amityville house which inspired both the Horror Movie Houses and Based on a True Story theme filling up almost half of the Halloween slots.

Now back to the schedule, as with past years I have a few dates open for suggestions. There are EIGHT spots open (I've highlighted the dates, but please note I may rearrange the order of all the themes on the final schedule). If you're interested in submitting themes here are the submission criteria:
a) must have participated in a few TMPs and have commented on previous posts.
b) submit three (no more as I'll probably have a hard time choosing) suggestions by posting a comment on this post. Only on this post.

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2020 Thursday Movie Picks Schedule

January 2 - Escape
January 9 -
January 16 - 2019 Releases
January 23 -
January 30 - TMP Television Edition: 2019 Freshmen Series
February 6 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Lust
February 13 - Meet Cute
February 20 - Love in the Tech Age
February 27 - TMP Television Edition: Romance
March 5 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Gluttony
March 12 - Spoofs / Satires / Mockumentaries
March 19 - Bad Boys
March 26 - TMP Television Edition: Docu Series
April 2 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Greed
April 9 -
April 16 -
April 23 -
April 30 - TMP Television Edition: Game Shows
May 7 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Envy
May 14 - Girls' Trip
May 21 - Numbers in Title (Not part of a franchise)
May 28 - TMP Television Edition: Competitive Reality Shows
June 4 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Sloth
June 11 - Prequels
June 18 - Period Dramas
June 25 - TMP Television Edition: Book to TV Adaptations
July 2 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Wrath
July 9 - Globetrotting Movies
July 16 - Male Buddy Movies
July 23 -  Secret Doorways / Worlds
July 30 - TMP Television Edition: TV Series Based on Movies
August 6 - Seven Deadly Sins Edition: Pride
August 13 - School
August 20 - Female Buddy Movies
August 27 - TMP Television Edition: Prequels
September 3 - Domestic Thrillers
September 10 - Non-English Language Movies
September 17 - The Band
September 24 - TMP Television Edition:
October 1 - Halloween Edition: Horror Movie Houses
October 8 - Halloween Edition: Based on a True Story
October 15 - Halloween Edition: Snow / Winter Horror
October 22 - Halloween Edition: Holiday Horror
October 29 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror
November 5 - Bookish Movies
November 12 -
November 19 - Movies about Villains
November 27 - TMP Television Edition: Non-English
December 3 - Adaptations
December 10 - Movies for Seniors / The Elderly
December 17 -
December 24 - Holiday Action Movies
December 31 -TMP Television Edition: Space / Aliens

Thursday Movie Picks #283: Super Long Titles

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Super Long Titles

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There are plenty of movies with super long titles. Many because they are part of some franchise with the franchise name included in the title. So I'm doing the opposite; my picks are strictly movies that are not part of any franchises.

P.S. I'll be posting the preliminary 2020 schedule on Sunday, so come and check it out.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
It has been a really long time since I've seen this but I remember the movie had a very somber tone, looked great visually and that I liked it. 

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

This was just an ok watch. I was actually quite disappointed. I thought it would be more quirkier and darkly funny but it was more on the duller side.

I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016) 
This movie has such a low rating on IMDB and I actually don't think it is that bad. I like the ghost story; it was creepy and tragic and the scares are quite good. The one thing I did found annoying was the voice that Ruth Wilson used especially when her character spoke to herself.

The Only Living Boy in New York (2017)
I've picked this before for TMP #234. I rather like it. It's basically about a recent college graduate who goes about trying to breakup his father's affair and ends up learning more about his family in the process.

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Thursday Movie Picks #282: Adaptations

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Adaptations

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This an easy theme, I'm sure everyone is spoiled for choice. I'm picking recent watches that are adaptations of books I've read.

How I Live Now (2013)
I read the book quite some time back, so I don't remember much of it by the time I saw the movie. I do remember finding it an ok book and the movie was an equally ok watch; in short not very memorable.

The Spectacular Now (2013)
This movie is notable I think for starring a few young actors (Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley and Brie Larson) before they broke out and it's a pretty good movie and a pretty faithful adaptation as well.

The Dressmaker (2015)
I picked this before for TMP #258. It's here again because it fits today's theme wonderfully and I did enjoy this dark drama comedy a lot. With "dressmaker" in the title, the costumes certainly did not disappoint.

Ready Player One (2018)
I actually did not like the book, so I thought since I didn't like the source material I would be less critical of the adaptation and would actually like it more. Nope that did not happen. The movie is quite long and yet a lot of the things that happen as he tries to solve the three puzzles was not really covered. Actually if I'm remembering correctly I think how he came about to solve each puzzle was just drastically changed from the book, not for the better in my opinion.

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Thursday Movie Picks #281: TMP Television Edition - Dystopian/Apocalyptic

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is TMP Television Edition - Dystopian/Apocalyptic

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There are plenty of dystopian/apocalyptic series to choose from, so I'm picking ones that I've seen the past year.

Daybreak (2019 -)

Zombie horror comedy series following a teen boy and his friends as they navigate the new world and search for his girlfriend. If you're tired of The Walking Dead, this is a nice change. I'd describe it as Mad Max-like high school zombie comedy with hints of Dawn of the Dead and Ferris Bueller.

The Society  (2019 -)

When their class trip is cut short, the teens return home to find their town completely empty of everyone else. I expected this to be terrible, but it surprised me, I ended up liking it. If you enjoy The 100, I think you might like this, it has the whole teens trying to survive on their own thing. Or if you like Lord of Flies...there are definitely Lord of the Flies moments here too. Then there's also the added mystery aspect to what is actually going on. Are the teens in a post apocalyptic world where everyone else has perished? Or are they part of some sociological/anthropological experiment? Or are they in purgatory? The first season ended with an ugly leadership change, let's see how terribly that pans out in the upcoming season two.

The Umbrella Academy (2019 -)

Super powered infants were adopted 30 years ago by an eccentric rich man to form a band of superheroes. However things did not go as planned and the children grew apart. Now the adult siblings have reunited when they learned of their adopted father's mysterious death. Oh I like this. It's basically this quirky story about these super powered people who never quite lived up to their potential/expectations and now might just be the only people who can stop an imminent apocalypse and oh there's time travel too. It's very interesting, funny and has a nice soundtrack as well.

Dark (2017 - )
In 2019 in a German town surrounded by thick woods, children have gone missing. As the community search for answers and tension increases, some of the townspeople are reminded of a similar occurrence 33 years ago. I absolutely love the first season. The second season is not as great but I still like it. I have to say that this is a very ambitious series, there's a lot to follow with the story being set in 5 to 6 time periods, so we often see the same characters as a child, adult and senior person throughout the series and then there are the time travelers who able to stay the same age and just move through the different time periods. The second season had I think two big revelations one involving the priest character which just shows how intricately tangled up these characters lives are and how could they ever extricate themselves from the mess? Anyway we will be getting a season three which is the final season so hopefully they would be able to end the series well.

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Thursday Movie Picks #280: Over a Meal

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Over a Meal

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Wow this is quite a tricky one, but I've managed to come up with four to do a theme within a theme. You definitely do not want to be invited to these dinner parties.

Rope (1948)
Two young men murders their friend and proceeds to host a dinner party right after as if nothing had happened, just to show they could get away with it. I like dialogue heavy movies and this is it, just people talking into the night as tension increases and it is very good.

The Invitation (2015) 
Out of the blue a man receives an invitation to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife and her new partner and the evening has an unsettling air to it the moment he arrives. This has a slow build up but in a good way. There's this ever present feeling of dread, you know something terribly bad is going to happen, just not what and why and who really is the crazy one until the final act.

The Beguiled (2017)
The arrival of a wounded Union deserter at a girls school in Virginia causes tension within the household. The whole movie is not over a dinner, but there is a big, yet quiet tension filled scene at the end of the movie that is over dinner and it just stood out. I definitely did not expect that to happen when I started watching the movie.

Le jeu (2018)
Remake of the Italian film Perfetti Sconosciuti. Three couples and their friend meet for dinner. Bored they decide to play a game where they share texts, emails and calls that pop up on their cell phones that ends disastrously. I've picked this movie twice before, still I have to pick it once more because it's perfect for this theme, also I really enjoyed it. Not as dark as the other movies, but you'd definitely do not want to play that game at a dinner party, it would likely ruin relationships.

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Thursday Movie Picks #279: Politics

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Politics

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I do not watch a lot of movies about politics so I thought it was going to be hard to find any picks until I realised I've seen these three. Anyway I'm picking a theme within a theme.

A Man for All Seasons (1966)
I've picked this before, it is one of my favourites. The man of course is Thomas More, Lord Chancellor during Henry VIII's reign who refuses to publicly endorse some of the king's major actions which eventually led to his trial and execution. If you like dialogue heavy and courtroom dramas, I recommend this.

Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
This is another favourite that I've picked before and if you've seen A Man for All Seasons you have to watch this movie too because it covers what happens after Henry VIII got his way and married Anne Boleyn, but not for very long. I'm sure court life under the reign of anyone is a political minefield, but this Tudor court is spectacularly so and makes great drama for the screen. The movie also looks very pretty and I like Geneviève Bujold's performance as Anne. And if you like both A Man for All Seasons and Anne of a Thousand Days, check out the excellent TV mini-series Wolf Hall which is from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell, another political player from the same period.

Lady Jane (1986) 
Henry VIII is dead and because there are issues with his successors, his grand niece Lady Jane makes a play for the throne which does not pan out, suffice to say she did not wear the crown for very long. See the common theme with my picks now; all set during the Tudor period and (historical spoiler alert!) all the title characters lost their head. While I enjoyed this movie, it is not a favourite like the two above, but it fits with my theme.

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Thursday Movie Picks #278: Scientists

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Scientists

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I'm picking recent watches that feature scientists.

The Lazarus Effect (2015) 
A group of medical researchers carry out experiments to bring the dead back to life which go terribly wrong. This was just an ok watch. It is sort of like a mash up of Pet Sematary and Flatliners only less memorable.

The Martian (2015)
 An astronaut is stranded on Mars after his team leaves thinking he was dead. The astronaut here is also a botanist and he uses his expertise to survive his long stay before help could ever reach him. I really enjoyed this one, it's a feel good drama with the whole "guy survives against all odds" thing going for it and it is quite funny as well. My only complain is that it is too long.

Annihilation (2018)
A biologist joins a team sent on a secret expedition to a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't seem to apply and where those who have ventured into it before have not returned. I like this one too. Super creepy and that ending.

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Thursday Movie Picks #277: Halloween/Television Edition - Horror

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween/Television Edition - Horror

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 3 - Halloween Edition: Period Drama Horror
October 10 - Halloween Edition: Teen Horror
October 17 - Halloween Edition: Jump Scares that Got You [Suggested by Brittani]
October 24 - Halloween Edition: Rituals
October 31 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

I've seen some great horror series the past year or so and here are my favourites:

Penny Dreadful  (2014 - 2016)
The Gist: Familiar classic horror characters work together to combat supernatural forces in Victorian England. I've said a few weeks ago that I tend to find horror shows with a period setting to have a slight edge in terms of scary atmosphere because the whole no electric lights made nights way more scarier and that people lives used to be ruled by so much superstition. What I had forgotten to add were that women and children were generally treated much more poorly, people with mental illness treated worse and medical science was terrible. You don't even need supernatural elements to make anything scary. Anyway what I'm trying to say is....Penny Dreadful has almost all off that and supernatural elements. Of course not to forget you favourite classic literary horror characters like Frankenstein and his monsters, Dorian Gray, Dracula, just to name a few. If you enjoy literary stuff, definitely check this out, it has a very literary feel to it with the dialog and references, beyond just using the familiar horror characters.

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

The Gist: A broken family confronts the haunting memories of their time at Hill House after a tragedy. I love this slow burning series that really takes its time in telling its story. It is just so well written and crafted making it a great haunting and tragic horror drama series. If you didn't know yet the series has become an anthology series and it seems it's continuing with the theme of haunted literary houses, with the second season called The Haunting of Bly Manor; the Bly manor from The Turn of the Screw. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Evil (2019 - )
The Gist: A priest-in-training and two skeptics, a psychologist and a contractor investigate miracles, demonic possessions and other unexplained occurrences to determine if there is a scientific explanation or if it is truly supernatural. This is a new series and so far it has been really good. There are some creepy stuff in this, both the supernatural variety and the psychological variety too. Look out for the fourth episode, it is a standout chilling one about parents of a possibly psychopathic young boy who are at their wits end dealing with him and have resorted to requesting an exorcism for their child.

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